First Kiss
by Thaif
Summary: WE: A oneshot set directly after COTBP about Will and Elizabeth's first kiss.


Will and Elizabeth stood there on top the fort, delighting and reveling in the reality of their kiss. Will shook his head a little and she gave him an inquisitive look.

"I just really didn't expect things to turn out this way," he revealed.

"And what way is that?"

"Exactly how I wanted them to." She tucked a stray stand of hair behind his ear. "It almost feels false, as if at any moment I might wake…perhaps in a jail cell."

Elizabeth let out a small laugh and smiled at him. "Would you like to go for a walk with me?" she questioned.

"Yes."

He laced his fingers through hers and they made their way down to the fields by the coast.

"Elizabeth, can I ask you a question?"

She looked at him puzzled. "Of course Will."

"Have you ever kissed me?"

Elizabeth gave him a look as if to ask "Are you daft?"

"I mean before today?"

"Oh," she replied sheepishly realizing to what he was referring. "Yes."

"Oh, okay…I always…I was just never quite sure."

"When we were fourteen," she avowed.

"Yes," he confirmed.

"Do you remember my father was throwing this big party for me and I was all excited because I got to have this special dress made, which meant I got to come into town a lot to pick out cloth and have fittings…"

"The lavender dress with puffed sleeves."

"Yes," Elizabeth replied surprised. "I can't…I can't believe you remembered that."

Will shrugged his shoulders a little in response. "You seemed very excited about it. You always stopped by to talk about it."

"I stopped by to talk to you." Will stared at her for a moment and a little embarrassed she continued, "Anyway, I was eager for you to get to see the dress at the party..."

"But I was never invited," he stated confused.

"I know," Elizabeth sighed, "You see, I had greatly wanted you to be there and I asked my father if you could, but he said no, he felt it would be inappropriate." Will frowned, but she didn't see this and continued on. "So basically I ended up having to spend the entire night with all these terribly self-important young men, all of whom talked around me and never to me unless they were trying to tell me how beautiful they thought my eyes were…"

Will stroked the side of her face, "You do have beautiful eyes."

She kissed him in response amazing Will a bit.

"See it sounds so lovely coming from you…" Flustered, Elizabeth took a moment to regroup her thoughts. "So, all I kept thinking was that I wished you were there so I might have some proper company. I made an attempt to at sneak out onto the balcony, unfortunately Robert Marling IV found me, cornered me, and promptly made a move to kiss me after approximately three seconds of decidedly poor conversation."

Will tensed a little and it became obvious to Elizabeth he was definitely not interested in hearing about her kissing other men.

"Oh, no, I didn't let him. I actually pushed him rather roughly and he fell into a planting," she recounted. Will looked upon her totally charmed by the nature of her character. They shared a warm glance before she continued. "I mean I was absolutely mortified at the idea. I was fourteen and he was twenty-one and I didn't even like him. Later that night I took confidence in my nurse about my dismay at the event. She chuckled and said I had better get used to young men wanting to kiss me because I was growing up after all. I decided then and there that at least my first kiss had to be with someone that I had inclinations towards."

"And that someone was…?" he gestured towards himself.

"You," she confessed quietly. "Two days later, in the middle of the night, I managed to sneak out of the house - which looking back was the most god-awful, stupid idea and I am very lucky nothing ever happened to me - and I knocked on your door hoping Mr. Brown would be "asleep" and that you would come to the door. You did and I kissed you. I then said absolutely nothing and fled back my to my house."

"I was still foggy from sleep and since I couldn't fathom why you be out in the middle of the night, I thought that it surely had to have been a dream. You never acted as though anything had ever transpired."

"I felt so foolish afterwards. I didn't know what else to do except pretend it hadn't happened. I was worried that things between us would be awkward and I was terribly afraid I would lose my friend…I must admit I have been pretending so long that I had almost begun to believe it hadn't quite happened myself," she admitted cupping her hand to his face, gently grazing his lower lip with her thumb.

"I'm glad it did," he replied.

"Me too. It needed to be you."

Will took her face in his hands and kissed her gently.

"I love you," she whispered.

Will opened his eyes and gazed at her a moment unsure of if he had just imagined what he'd heard.

"I love you," she repeated.

Will smiled boldly and his faced beamed as he lifted her into his embrace and kissed her again, her feet dangling above ground. She returned his smile with every bit of intensity, her countenance radiating joy.

After a while he finally put her down still keeping her wrapped up in his arms. Staring at her, he shook his head a little.

"Still afraid you might wake up?"

"Most definitely."


End file.
